Weekly Wrap #145

Reading time 4 mins

Hello Lovelies! Welcome to my weekly wrap up!

If you follow me on social media, you might have seen my posts about a tragedy that happened in my town. Thursday night my son’s best friend, a 16 year old, was shot in the head. My son was not with him, but he was with his mother when he arrived on the scene to where the cops had already pronounced the child dead. The shooter was caught that very night after trying to dispose of the gun. He is currently being held on a 1 million dollar bond. You can find all the gruesome details about this case on social media and local news to Wethersfield, CT.

First, I want to tell you that this kid that died, Vincent, was my son’s best friend. They were always together except this one night when my son was actually at home (and he is hardly ever at home). My son is beyond grieving. He is devastated. He has spend every waking minute since he found out with his on again-off again girlfriend. He is not alone in his pain as all Vincent’s close friends have taken to gathering together at their homes and consoling each other.

Vincent was a good student and a junior in high school. He grew up in this town and everyone knew him, or knew of him. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in a town like this. The whole community is in shock.

Vincent was an only child to a single parent. His mother was one of the best mothers I ever met. She was completely dedicated to her son. Vincent was her whole world and she always put him first. To say that she is grieving is a complete understatement. She is going through every parent’s worst nightmare. I have tried to spend every minute possible with her since I found out. It could very easily have been my son. I can’t imagine the pain she is in.

I have been crying on and off since Friday morning, when I found out. I haven’t been able to think about much else. I have read all the news reports and talked to everyone. I have been able to piece together a good timeline around what happened. I wish I didn’t. I can see everything from the Vincent’s point of view as his friend aimed a gun at him, to what the shooter probably saw. These imagined clips keep playing through my head. I don’t know which is worse; seeing a beautiful mother try to keep breathing, or watching as my son second guesses everything he did that day imagining he could have prevented it somehow.

All I can do is stand by these two and try to be there for them. If you want to help please donate to help cover the costs of the funeral and lost work time for this mother please go here. The woman running this page is the mother’s best friend.

The wake is Tuesday evening and the funeral is Wednesday. I am trying to help the family organize a memorial service to be held at a community center close to where all the kids play basketball. I am hoping for all the teens and community members affected by this to be able to come out and share what Vincent meant to them. Hug your loved ones and tell them that you love them, you never know when it will be the last time. #VincentsWorldNow

Today Miguel and I celebrate out one year paper wedding anniversary. Here was one of his gifts to me…

Fitness this week:

I worked out on Monday. I did legs and it was a great workout. I did really well with my water intake as well in the early part of this week. Hopefully I can get back on track next week.

Next week I plan to post:

Currently reading:

My Book Haul:

What did you do this week?

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received. See what other blogs have planned for the week ahead.

Mother, Lover, Writer, Reviewer, Social Media Princess. Karen has been a blogger since 2010. She is a US Army veteran, a medical professional, and the mother of four. She reviews books and shares mind vomit for this blog in her ‘spare’ time. Karen lives in New England.

This is so tragic, and I am terribly sorry for your loss, for your son’s loss, for all the pain your community is experiencing. It’s difficult when you lose someone, but it seems a little harder when it is someone so young, and they are claimed by violent means.Check Out Sam@WLABB’s most recent post- Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post

This death was such a tragedy and a waste of young life. It saddens and angers me that anyone can think they can take someone’s life. I’m so sorry for your loss. You are a great friend to be so supportive at this time. Congrats on your anniversary and the gift is so thoughtful. May you and Miguel have many more happy years together!

This is so devastating. I can’t express how sorry I am that your son has lost his best friend or that mother her only child. Your son will drive himself crazy if he continues on the track of what ifs, but I know how hard it is to get off that train of thought. I hope your community can come together and support this mother and do something amazing in Vincent’s honor.

Congratulations on your anniversary! I don’t know many people who actually celebrate the traditional milestones of the anniversaries. I wish you many, many more years together.

I’m so sorry to hear about Vincent. What a terrible terrible tragedy. And how awful that your son has to go through that. I don’t even know how you could begin to heal but I hope he is able to realize that the only person at fault is the shooter. Easier said than done I know.

Happy anniversary! I love the necklace. It’s so pretty. Miguel has good taste!Check Out Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library’s most recent post- Ten Books about Food on My TBR

Oh my goodness Karen. That is horrific! I really, really hope that your son is coping better than he was and I hope that he and his friends are such a huge comfort to each other. I hope that the wake and memorial went well. I’m so sorry you’ve been dealing with this.

Oh my gosh… this is tragic. I am so sorry… and I can’t believe the amount of shit that has been happening to your son lately! Like… it’s unreal. This is incredibly sad… however, one can’t help but be glad that your son is safe, you know?
I hope he can deal with this well. Especially because I know he was already in a tough spot in his life, all those choices and all. This is really hard.
It’s a sad background for that, but still – congratulations on your anniversary! And I hope that cheers you up at least a little *hugs*

Oh my gosh, that is just… there are no words for something like that. I am so so sorry for your loss. All the hugs and love to you. Please pass them on to your son and the boy’s mother. <3Check Out Annemieke’s most recent post- Book Review – Taproot

Oh my goodness, I’ve really been out of the loop this November and I totally missed this! I’m so sorry about this tragedy!Check Out Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction’s most recent post- November Wrap-Up & Best of the Bunch